Downtime
by VanHelsings angel
Summary: Even CSIs need their downtime.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: CSI: Miami ain't mine. I didn't steal the characters, promise! .:shifty eyes:. Neither are the songs used.

Rating: K, nothing really bad, a bit of language…

Set: After season 3.

A/N: This Fic is a collection of chapters, each for a different CSI. Kinda Songfic/angst…. Next chapters up soon… Apologies for any inconsistencies, but I do try…

The Song in this Chapter is 'Mockingbird' By Eminem.

Downtime

Calleigh

Calleigh Duquesne walked into the Break Room, holding the portable phone to her ear.

Her expression was set, none of the emotions she was feeling showed through.

She pushed a stray hair back behind her ear, putting her hand on her hip, pushing back the lapel of her cream suit, to reveal her gun and badge.

"Yes. Yes. Alright…" She sighed, and rubbed her eyes.

It had been a long day, and it was about to get longer.

"Okay, thank you," She said, as she took the phone from her ear and sat down.

Her Father, an Investigator, and self-confessed Alcoholic, had been picked up DUI, and was down at the local police station.

Calleigh didn't know how many more times she could bail him out of his screw-ups.

She had her own problems, and couldn't be bothered dealing with his.

It wasn't that she didn't care; it was just that she was a busy woman, she had a life… She didn't know what she would do with him.

It was his fourth offence… and she just didn't know how much longer this could go on… He was in serious trouble… He would probably get sent to AA Camp - or whatever they called them these days.

He was her only family left, even though she considered her CSI's her family, it wasn't the same… She sighed, made herself a coffee and sat down at the glass-toped table.

She looked into her mug, and smiled, remembering what someone once told her.

"I don't drink coffee, rots your stomach."

She took a long swallow, and the hot drink warmed her through, not that she needed to be warm, but the comfort of being able to do something with her hands was what she wanted.

After her coffee, she would head down to the Firing range, and empty some clips… That never failed to relax her…

She saw Eric heading towards her, slightly distorted in all the glass.

He smiled enthusiastically at her, popping his head in the door.

"Hey Calleigh! Have you seen my…" Eric never finished his sentence, as Calleigh looked down beside the table, and held up his backpack.

She suspended it from one finger, grinning wearily, "This what you're looking for, Delko?"

He grabbed it, and turned around, when he stopped. "Calleigh, what's eating you? You don't look great…" He trailed off.

Was it that obvious? Calleigh thought as she looked at him squarely, "Nah, I'm alright Delko, I'm alright… It's just… Family…"

"I know what you mean, last Christmas, my father called me and we talked for five hours. Five hours! Can you believe that? Sometimes family are a pain…" He looked sceptically at her, then pulled out a Cola, and getting her vibe, wandered back to the locker room.

Calleigh put her mug down, and enjoyed the quiet.

But drifting from somewhere in the Lab, there came the sound of a radio playing a rap beat.

She listened to the monotonous beat, concentrating.

Ugh, she thought, as she recognised the voice as Eminem. She didn't particularly like the White-Boy Rapper. Nelly or 50 Cent were much more her type…

But against her own will, the words drifted to her…

_Now hush little baby, don't you cry_

_Everything's gonna be alright_

_Stiffen that upper lip up little lady, I told ya,_

_Daddy's here to hold ya through the night_

_I know mommy's not here right now and we don't know why_

_We feel how we feel inside_

_It may seem a little crazy, pretty baby_

_But I promise momma's gon' be alright_

She put her face in her hands, and breathed deep.

She pushed back the tears that threatened, blinking hard.

She was Bullet Girl; a little family trouble wasn't going to get her down.

She threw her mug into the sink, getting up, and winced as it clattered dangerously around the bottom.

She pushed open the glass door, and took another deep breath.

She knew the team would help her through, and when it was settled, they would be there, to laugh with and cry with, whatever the outcomes…


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: CSI: Miami isn't mine, neither are the songs.

A/N: The song in this chapter is 'Far Away' By Alex Lloyd. No slash implied.

Eric

Eric Delko jogged through the shallows on the beach, splashing through the foam and shingle, soaking his running shoes, and most of his shorts. It was twilight, and the beach was almost empty, the water sparkled in the dimness. Eric loved running. It was his own time, time in which he could think, or if he wanted to get away from it all, just to run. Just to forget everything, forget reality, and concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. He ran often, (In more ways than in the literal sense) although most of the time, on a track. It was a change to run on the beach, harder, wetter. Running was his escape form reality, and for it, he was grateful.

Tonight, though, he had a song in his head. He had no idea where it had come from.

_You got your shirt on but you still feel cold, _

_Still feel cold tonight, _

_Your hearts devotion running through your head, _

_Through your head tonight,_

It was strange though… the song reminded him of himself…

_These waves around you they keep crashing in,_

_It's getting deep now but you still can't swim,_

_It just feels far away, so far away,_

_Your world tonight…_

His day had been hectic… A double homicide, and a rape-murder. If ever he needed his run, it was now. The Lab wasn't the same… Now, it seemed to him a place of work… Even his adopted family, his team, was changed. The cases seemed to hit them harder, the days were long and filled with same-old, same-old, it seemed. He wondered if they were falling apart… As a unit and as friends…

_It keeps you guessing till the very end, _

_Some things you'll never know, _

_You're feeling lowly cause you miss your friend, _

_You miss your friend tonight…_

He exhaled, and looked down at the sand. _Speed… _The though echoed in his mind, and his throat tightened. The Lab had changed after his death, they all knew. It would never bee the same… And then Raymond Sr.'s return? It was a rough time for all of them…

They didn't mention him often, but Eric knew they all though about Tim. Ryan Wolfe was alright… Eric knew he would have to come to terms with the new addition. He was a good CSI, still a bit green, but he had his heart in the right place…

_These waves around you they keep crashing in, _

_It's getting deep now but you still can't swim… _

_It just feels far away, so far away… _

_Your world tonight, _

_Well it just feels far away, so far away, _

_Your world tonight, _

_Tonight, tonight, tonight, _

_Tonight, tonight, tonight, alright… _

But if he had the chance that day in the Jewelry store, he would have dived in front of that bullet. Sometimes, he hated Horatio for not doing more… But then he realized he couldn't hate him… They all had to stay together…

_These waves around you they keep crashing in, _

_It's getting deep now but you still can't swim. _

_You just feel far away, so far away, _

_Your world tonight, _

_Well you just feel far away, so far away,_

_Your world tonight, _

_Tonight, tonight, tonight… _

_Tonight, tonight, tonight …_

Eric stopped and looked at the last rays of the warm Miami sun disappearing over the horizon. He put his hands on his knees and breathed the sea-spray air deeply in the gathering twilight. Yes he had been mourning Speed's death, and yes, he had been reckless… He regretted his actions… And he knew Horatio understood. Ryan didn't… He never would. He was trying to clean up his act, to get Stetler of all off their asses. Rick was something none of them needed at the moment. But it would get better, it had to…

_It just feels far away, so far away, _

_Your world tonight. _

_You just feel far away, so far away, _

_Tonight… _

Eric turned in his damp trainers, and ran on into the coming darkness, heading back to his car. His thoughts were complex, his head a little clearer, and once again, he thanked God for his jogs.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Not mine. Nothin'

A/N: The song in this chapter is 'Mobile' By Avril Laveigne.

Ryan

Ryan Wolfe was slumped over a Lab Bench, the sleeve of his White Coat covering his face.

He was emitting soft snores at regular intervals.

He snorted and murmured, shifting slightly on his stool.

A passing Lab Tech noticed the apparently sleeping CSI, and tapped softly on the glass of the wall.

Not getting any form of response, she knocked a little harder.

Ryan jerked up, sitting bolt upright looking around the room furiously.

"Horatio, I…" He began, half expecting the smiling Red-head to be standing expectantly beside him, a reproachful look in his bright blue eyes.

He blushed as he noticed the Tech outside the Lab, stifling a giggle behind a shaking hand, and brushed the empty crushed test tube off the front of his shirt.

He scooped it up, aimed it at the closest Waste bin, and missed with about half of the bits of glass.

He sighed, telling himself he'd sweep it up later, knowing he'd probably forget.

He yawned, stretching his arms over his head, observing it was dark outside.

What time was it? He asked himself, as he gave a sleepy smile to Detective Rhys, a night-shifter, as he strolled past with an arm full of folders.

_At least ten_, he thought, groaning as he began to clear up his space. Nothing, repeat, _nothing,_ was worth staying five hours after work on a Friday.

He squinted at a sheet he had dropped, trying to focus with bleary eyes.

It had been a sheet to the forensic report he had promised Horatio on his desk yesterday, it had not been particularly riveting work…

He massaged the imprint his pen had made on his cheek, humming a tune he had heard on the Radio in his car this morning.

Recalling the words he sang in his head, as he had been told many times he wasn't a good singer…

_Went back home again,_

_This sucks, gotta pack up and leave again._

_Say goodbye to all my friends,_

_Can't say when I'll be there again._

_Its time now, I turn around,_

_Turn my back on everything…_

_Everything's changing when I turn around,_

_All out of my control,_

_I'm a mobile,_

_Everything's changing when I turn around,_

_All out of my control,_

_I'm a mobile,_

_hmmmmm, yeah, yeah…_

Everything _was _changing… it never felt like anything was the same anymore…

One minute he had been a boy in college, the next moment, he was here working a full-time job with Miami's finest Law enforcers. Sometimes it felt surreal.

Other times, he would just sit back and feel proud of himself, it was a beautiful city, and although some may have called what he did 'morbid' he enjoyed his job.

Yes, there was tension in the workplace, even when it was not bubbling on the surface, he could sense it was there, he was the 'New Kid', the replacement.

As he'd said before, in no way was he competing with a dead man, he knew he could never be Speed.

What he had heard of Tim Speedle was mostly good, he had been accurate in his work, which he took pride in, he was a no-shit-from-nobody guy, and Ryan admired that. But the reports on his death had been as varied as the reactions.

Yet he still sensed some of the team believed he would never belong, and sometimes, he felt the same.

He made beginners mistakes that he knew if he was completely focused, he could easily avoid.

It was as if he cared what others though to much lately, but he did want to make a good impression.

He yawned again, humming more of the song…

_Start back at this life,_

_Stretch myself back into the vibe,_

_I'm waking up to say I've tried._

_Instead of waking up to another TV Guide,_

_Its time now, I turn around,_

_Turn and walk on this crazy ground oh oh oh…_

But he knew he would concentrate more, for Monday brought a new week, and a fresh start. He put the last of his chemicals away in a cupboard below the bench, and walked towards the locker room.

It really _was _late. As he passed the front doors, the morning receptionist, Gale, walked in with her Messenger bag slung over her shoulder. She smiled and nodded his way, before sliding in to her computer chair, spinning once, and beginning to type in her logon.

Ryan chuckled, Gale was young, twenty five, and was a friendly girl. It was a pity he didn't get to see more of her; she left mid-morning.

He grabbed his bag and coat from his locker, slamming it, and heading for his car and home.

_Oh my God! _He remembered, _I've been humming Avril Lavigne! _ He grimaced. The song was catchy, but Avril Lavigne?

He shook his head slowly, looking at the slightly cracked pavement beneath his feet.

All of a sudden, Ryan Wolfe he stopped dead. He'd forgotten to sweep up the broken test tube.

He sighed and whirled around, walking back into the Miami PD.

A CSI's work was never done.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Geez, Donahue, I swear I'm not stealing your characters! Much… And record company people, your songs are yours.

A/N: This song is 'Between Here and Gone' by Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Horatio

Horatio Caine cruised to a stop at traffic lights in central Miami. He gazed slowly around, and removed his dark sunglasses. He heaved a sigh and flicked on the radio in his silver Hummer.

Pulling a sharp turn, Horatio headed home, but his mind was at the crime scene he had just come from. It was a rape-murder, the victim was a young high school girl, maybe 16, who had been on a holiday with friends. He had left Alexx at the scene, quietly chatting to the corpse. Horatio now let his mind wander to the quite piano music emitting from the radio…

_Tonight the moon came up, it was nearly full,_

_Way down here on Earth, I could feel its pull._

_The weight of gravity, or just the lure of light,_

_Made me want to leave my only home tonight._

It was soothing music, but strangely unsettling for him.

Alexx had taken one look at Horatio and told him to go home for the day. He hadn't argued, only cleared up his work at the scene, spoke to the police, and headed back to his apartment.

_I'm just wondering how we know where we belong,_

_Is it in a photograph, or a dashboard poet's song?_

_Will I have missed my chance to right some ancient wrong?_

_Should I find myself between here and gone… _

Now he threw a glance at his silver kit in the back seat, and switched off the haunting tune. Tonight he didn't feel like dealing with any form of distraction. Yet he couldn't rest, he couldn't go home. He didn't _want _to go home to an empty apartment. What was there for him in his own home except a night alone with a microwave dinner and some lame romance movie on Foxtel? Had it been any other night, he would have invited Yelina Salas out for a coffee in one of the many water-front cafés in Miami. But the brunette beauty was no doubt in Brazil having the time of her life with newly returned husband, Ray Sr.

Horatio had paperwork to do in the labs; there at least he could feel useful.

Even though the radio was turned off, (this Horatio checked twice) still the quiet song continued in his head, as if he had known it all his life…

_Now I could grab my keys, peel out my truck,_

_With every cent on board bringing me their luck,_

_I could drive too fast like a midnight sleeve,_

_As if there was a way to outrun the grief…_

He turned onto a street which would take him along the beachfront. He loved how the sinking sun glowed on the water. Beyond the tinted windows of the Hummer, Horatio could hear the crashing of waves and the distant caw of seabirds. Beyond those sounds though, there were the noises of the healthy Miami nightlife beginning. Shouts of tourists and locals filled the air, as well as the sounds of slow-driving motors, belonging to cars filled with more tourists admiring the beach as Horatio was.

A slow smile crept across his face as he noted a silver Hummer just like his, emblazoned with the Miami-Dade Police Department crest, parked in front of stairs leading to the beach. Eric was out for a jog.

_I'm just wondering how we know where we belong,_

_In a song that's left behind, in a dream I couldn't wake from…_

_Could I have felt the brush of a soul that's passing on?_

_Somewhere in between here and gone…_

The roof of Miami PD came into view, and Horatio felt a strange sense of belonging, or _I'm home…_

He swung the huge vehicle into the car park at the rear, pulled his kit from the back seat, and strolled slowly through the gathering dark to the front door. The fluorescent lights in the corridors of the Labs were just beginning to flicker on, and Horatio looked into the glass-fronted break room to see their blonde Ballistics expert, Calleigh, leaning on the table with her head in her hands, the break room portable phone resting on the table in front of her.

The red-head took off his tan jacket and hung it over his kit as he went to walk into the smaller of the two Forensics Labs. Horatio then noted Ryan Wolfe bent over a bench, a look of intense concentration etched on his face. Smiling, Horatio nodded. _Well done, Mr. Wolfe, _he thought, the young CSI was a hardworking and worthy addition to his team. He turned to leave, not wanting to disturb the keen crime-solving so clearly written on his features.

Horatio pushed open the door of the larger Lab, and placed his kit on a bench; he would restock it tomorrow morning.

_Up above me_

_Wayward angels_

_A blur of wings and grace…_

_One for courage_

_One for safety_

_One for 'just in case'…_

Dan Cooper was sitting in front of the AV screens, going over and over a few seconds of footage. It had been retrieved from the security cameras at the crime scene, and a runner had brought the tapes back to the Department with the first pieces of evidence.

_I thought a light went out, but now a candle shines,_

_I thought my tears wouldn't stop, then56 I dried my eyes,_

_And after all of this, the truth that holds me here,_

_Is that this emptiness is something not to fear…_

Dan looked up. "Hey Lieutenant…" He sighed.

Horatio cocked his head a little. "Looks like you're having trouble Dan. Could I help?"

Dan looked back at his screen, "Well, there's a man in the background of the shot, watching the victim, and he puts his hand in his pocket. Then he clicks something." Dan ran the footage again, in which a man partially obscured by bushed did indeed put his hand in his pocket. "I'm sorry, Mr. Cooper, but I can't hear anything…" Horatio said.

"I'll enhance it," Dan replied quickly, and he proceeded to do so. Horatio now heard a loud _click-clunk _when the footage was played.

For a few more minutes they debated the sound, but neither was closer to guessing what the click might be. Horatio left Dan looking drained but determined.

_Yeah, I keep wondering how we know where we belong,_

_After all the journeys made and the journeys yet to come,_

_When I feel like giving up instead of going on,_

_Somewhere in between... _

Horatio slumped into his office chair, looking contemptuously at the piles of paper on his desk, He gazed at the picture of Yelina and Ray Jr. he had there, and smiled back at the grins that were immortalized in the photo. It had been a long time since he had seen either of them smile. Horatio took up his pen, and looked at the first question on the first sheet.

'Investigating Forensic Scientist:' He grimaced and wrote 'Horatio Caine' in his angular handwriting.

_Yeah, I'm just wondering how we know where we belong…_

_Is it in the arc of the moon leaving shadows on the lawn?_

_In the path of fireflies and a single bird at dawn?_

_Singing in between here and gone…_


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: CSI: Miami ain't mine. Nor is the song used.

A/N: Finally, I bring you the last chapter of 'Downtime', please read and review.

The song used in this chapter is 'Carry on, My Wayward Son' by Kansas. The arrangement of the song is kind of a changed a bit, so apologies to anyone upset by this.

Alexx

Alexx Woods brushed the hair from the eyes of the cadaver that lay on the ice-cold metal table in front of her.

He was young, nineteen maybe, and he was on her table. He should have been out, partying with his friends and getting high on the Miami nightlife, but instead he was with her in her cold Morgue.

"Poor baby," She cooed softly. It broke her hear to have to cut up the young ones.

_Carry on my wayward son, _

_There'll be peace when you are done. _

_Lay your weary head to rest, _

_Don't you cry no more._

She looked at the clock high on the wall of the morgue, and noted that it was almost seven o'clock, and the sky outside her window had turned a soft orange.

She sighed as she slid the draw into the great wall of draws before her, and closed the door with a metallic click. She leant against the door for a moment, put her head down and said a prayer.

The boy; she looked at the clipboard she had left on a table beside the big table. 'Ben Johnson' it read.

At least he would not be one of the anonymous dead.

Alexx shivered and rubbed her upper arms, looking around. Suddenly she looked around; she could feel someone's eyes on her.

She looked up at the observation room, searching for Horatio. He was the one that was usually there to check up on her.

But tonight the room was empty, the walls scattered with the flickering blue light of the computer screens up there. She could hear the buzzing from where she stood below. Alexx was going to have to turn them off later.

_Once I rose above the noise and confusion, _

_Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion,_

_I was soaring ever higher,_

_But I flew too high…_

Alexx took up a cloth and wiped over the stainless steel examination table, strangely she took comfort in the menial, everyday tasks.

Subconsciously, she began to hum an odd tune that she was sure she had never heard before.

Again she felt the eyes on her back, and whirled around to find the culprit, but there was no one in the quiet and lonely morgue.

Alexx shuddered, the phrase 'silent as the tomb' came to mind, but she banished it with a shake of her head.

She pushed away a bang of her deep brown hair and went back to polishing the table.

Then, completely shattering the quiet, a dithering intern with blond hair crashed through the twin swing doors, gabbling something about bodies and results.

"Honey, have some respect for the dead," Alexx said gently as she placed a hand on the girl's arm. She peered at the papers the worker was thrusting under her nose, and took them from a shaking hand.

"Sorry Mrs. Woods, but I've never liked morgues; I'm just here for the paperwork, you know," The intern blurted, heading for the door.

Alexx smiled sweetly and thanked the girl for the papers. They were just sheets requesting a detailed autopsy report ASAP, including blood work and alcohol and drug checks on one 'Ben Johnson'.

They could wait to the morning, her kids were home with her husband, and she hated to think the kind of mess he'd leave if they demanded dinner and he had to provide.

_Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man, _

_Though my mind could think I still was a mad man, _

_I hear the voices when I'm dreaming, _

_I can hear them say…_

Sometimes she wondered how much longer she could do her job, how much longer she could just watch the bodies roll in, how much longer she could watch Horatio and the rest of the team break the bad news to families.

Then would come a case she was passionate about, one she just had to see solved, and her need to help people find closure was rekindled.

It still broke her heart to have young in her morgue, but it was equally as difficult to know she was cutting up someone's mother, father, brother, sister.

Then there were those you knew, people you had know in life, people you had seen breathe, friends.

Alexx heard a sardonic laugh, and a gravelly voice say, _I'm leaving that one alone_, in the still air of the morgue, and she smiled tearfully.

_Timmy, _She breathed to herself, and surmised that it was him who had been watching her.

"We miss you, Honey," Alexx said to the empty room, as she snapped off her latex gloves.

_On a stormy sea of moving emotion, _

_Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean, _

_I set a course for winds of fortune, _

_But I hear the voices say…_

She checked over her morgue one last time as she removed her heavy green apron and placed it on a hook by the door.

It was empty of almost anything, but then Alexx remembered the boy in her draw, waiting quietly to tell his own story. She bid him a solemn goodnight, "Until the morning, Sweetheart."

Alexx clipped off the lights, and the harshly bright and humming fluorescent lights on the high ceiling flickered and faded into darkness.

She washed her hands thoroughly in the sink outside the swing doors, and let down her hair as she wandered towards the locker room.

She shook off the day of bodies and autopsies, of paperwork and crimes with a shrug, over the years she had learnt to do it well.

Alexx was heading home to a warm home and a loving family, this also helped her to escape and switch off, but she knew some were no so lucky.

Again she thanked whatever force watched over her life and let her have so many of the good things in life; a beautiful husband, two healthy kids, and friends some could only dream of.

_Carry on my wayward son,_

_There'll be peace when you are done, _

_Lay your weary head to rest, _

_Don't you cry no more._

Alexx nodded to Detective Rhys as the man passed her in the corridor, he was a friendly night-shifter that she had had many god conversations with over the years.

_Years_, she reflected, had she really been working at Miami PD that long? Alexx had seen many young detectives and CSI's come and go, she had even been here when the red-headed Lieutenant had taken over the day-shift.

Alexx turned into the locker room, the end of another long day at work.

Tomorrow would bring another crime, another murder, another body on her table.

But now, she was going to go home, cook dinner for her family, hug her children, and fall asleep in her husband's arms on the couch, watching a movie on TV that she'd seen hundreds of times before.

_Carry on, you will always remember, _

_Carry on, nothing equals the splendor, _

_Now your life's no longer empty, _

_But surely heaven waits for you…_

_Finis._


End file.
